Nonconducting covering for steam-pipes



(Model.)

H. 0. BRADLEY.

NON-CONDUCTING COVERING FOR STEAM PIPES, BOILERS, &c. No. 389,542.

Patented-Sept. 18, 1888.

N PETERS. Phclo-Lithogupher, Washington D. Q

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY O. BRADLEY, OF MILW'AUKEE, WISCONSIN.

NON-CONDUCTING COVERING FOR STEAM-PIPES, BOILERS, &c.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 389,542, datedSeptember 18. I888.

' Application filed January 2, 1883. Serial No. 80.634. (ModoL) To allwhom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY C. BRADLEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee, and State of Wisconsin, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Coverings for Steam-Pipes, Boilers, and other Heated Surfaces, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in coverings for steam-pipes,boilers, and other heated surfaces, which coverings consist of a seriesof non-conducting plain or corrugated sheets composed of paper, felt,asbestus, or other similar fibrous material, the sheets of the seriesbeing all of the same material, or made up of sheets one or more ofwhich are of different material from the others composing the series.

The objects of this invention are to increase the durability andmaterially strengthen such coverings without destroying the requisiteflexibility necessary to enable them to be readily bent and conformed tothe surface to which they are to be applied; to stiffen the coverings toa degree sufficient to provide for staying and bracing the sheets ofwhich the coverings are composed,when corrugations in the sheets are ofsuch dimensions that they would otherwise break down owing to the normalflexibility of the sheets; and to provide one or more layers of aflexible stifi'ening adapted to retain a variety of forms given to thelayers individually or collectively, whereby corrugations may beconveniently made in or the covering be bent to conform to a particularconfiguration in or locality of the device to be covered.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, in which is illustrated inperspective View a covering embodying my invention, A designates anumber of plain sheets composed of paper, felt, asbestos, or othersimilar fibrous material; and B, similar sheets forming opposing sidesof a covering having one or more intermediate corrugated sheets, 0, ofsimilar material.

D represents a sheet of wire fabric, which, as shown, is placed betweenthe two plain sheets of fiber on each side of and next the corrugatedsheets, which in turn have a similar sheet of fabric between them.

By the employment of the wire fabric between two or more sheets of acovering the requisite flexibility to enable a covering to conform tothe surface to be covered is maintained, although as a whole thecovering is considerably stiffened, and, besides this, the character ofthe wire fabric is such that it will retain whatever form is given it. I

My invention is not limited to the application of wire fabric to theparticular covering shown, but includes coverings which are composedWholly of plain, indented, or corrugated sheets of non-conducting fabriceither alone or combined, the form of corrugations or indentations alsobeing immaterial, for by employing the wire fabric upon the inner faceor between two or more of the several sheets of any of the coverings Ihave described the covering as a whole has not only the requisiteflexibility to enable it to be bent to and retain the desired form, butto prevent the charring of the inner layers of the covering, which woulddiminish the effectiveness of the covering as a Whole after having oncebeen applied; and it would also be within the spirit of my invention tocombine with a wire fabric corrugated or plain sheets of asbestos paperto the exclusion of sheets of othermaterial when the essential object isto have a strong and durable fabric possessing to a maximum degreenonconducting qualities and indestructibility by fire or heat, combinedwith a minimum degree of lightness and thickness.

It is well known that when these coverings have been for some time inuse upon highlyheated surfaces some of the inner layers become charred,and, having nothing to stay them, crumble, fall away, and hence destroythe efiectiveness of the covering; and also that if these charred layersare in their charred state maintained intact they are substantially aseffective as before.

Among the advantages of my invention is that the wire fabric serves tosustain the charred layers, and this is true whether but one layer ofthe fabric is upon the face of the covering or between two or moresheets thereof, the advantage thus obtained by the wire fabric thereforemore than compensating for any properties of conduction of heat it mayhave. To this end the best effects are attained by employing a wirefabric the meshes of which are not smaller than issufficient to supportand maintain the charred layers intact.

Coverings intended for flat surfaces may be rolled in concentric layersfor convenience in shipping and storage, in which case it is obviousthat the employment of the wire fabric materially facilitates the afterflattening or straightening out of the cover upon the surface to whichit is to be applied, or of bending and maintaining its surfaces invarious angles.

Having described my invention, What I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s-

1. A covering the outer layers on both sides of which are composed ofplain sheets of nonconducting fabric and the inner layer of corrugatednon-conducting fabric adapted to support and hold in position the outerand plain sheets, substantially as described.

H, C. BRADLEY.

Witnesses:

WM. P. LYNDE, J r., BENJ. K. MILLER, Jr.

